Many people think of financial planning as a fixed route: decide where you want to go, draw up a plan, and follow it until the end. In reality, good financial planning works much more like a sat-nav.
When you start a journey, a map can show you the roads, but it can’t react when traffic builds up, a road closes, or you decide to take a detour. A sat-nav, on the other hand, constantly adapts. It recalculates when things change, keeps your destination in mind, and helps you arrive safely, even if the route isn’t the one you originally expected.
Your financial life works in much the same way.
Very few people follow a straight line from working life to retirement. Careers change. Families grow. Health, inheritance, business opportunities, legislation, and markets all evolve over time. A plan that made sense five or ten years ago may no longer reflect your priorities today.
This is where the value of ongoing financial planning really shows itself.
Rather than creating a rigid, “set-and-forget” strategy, effective planning focuses on direction and adaptability. The destination matters, whether that’s financial independence, helping family, retiring comfortably, or leaving a legacy, but the route will almost certainly change along the way.
Markets don’t move in straight lines either. Periods of uncertainty, volatility, or poor headlines can feel uncomfortable, especially when viewed in isolation. A sat-nav doesn’t panic when traffic slows, it simply adjusts. In the same way, a well-structured financial plan is designed to cope with bumps in the road without losing sight of the long-term goal.
Regular reviews play a vital role here. They allow you to check progress, factor in life changes, make use of allowances, and adjust your strategy when needed. Importantly, they also help remove emotion from decision-making at times when reacting instinctively can be costly.
Financial planning isn’t about predicting the future perfectly. It’s about building a framework that can respond when the future doesn’t behave as expected.
Just like a sat-nav, the best financial plans don’t promise a journey without delays, but they do help you stay on course, adapt when necessary, and arrive where you want to be with confidence.
